Good Evening
Previously: Mark starts to put the pieces together and takes a nap.
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5:02 PM - Friday, November 6, 2014
US Park Police Office, Ft Winfield Scott, The Presidio
A bank of TV cameras aimed themselves at a small podium Paco had found in the basement storeroom. It didn’t have anything official about it, but it would work. He’d set it just to the left of the large US Park Police insignia that graced the wall next to the door on this side of the building. The tiled porch of the old faux-Spanish style building was the main entrance that no one used except for more official business, but it allowed enough room for the crowd of reporters that had shown up in the last hour, hoping for their evening news segments.
The parade ground was shadowed by now; the two towers of bridge in the distance just lighting up in the autumn twilight. Paco spotted them and swallowed his nerves. When he began talking, he looked past the oversized black camera eyes and focused on the towers.
“Good evening and thank you for being here.” Paco swallowed again, his mouth already dry. He realized his shoulders were tingling with adrenaline. “My name is Paco Mayfield and I’m an officer with the United States Park Police; this is our Presidio field office where we manage the Presidio as well as other areas of the Golden Gate National Parks.” The cameras whirred as he glanced at his bullet points on the sheet in front of him. “I need to state up-front that this briefing is to provide information, and make a request from the public. We will not be taking questions this evening as we are not at liberty to discuss the specifics of the case. Understood?” The pack of reporters seemed to huff a wary sigh in response as Paco looked them over.
Enough with the preamble. Dive in. Paco cleared his throat.
“On the morning of November 1st, the body of a teenage girl was found in El Polin Spring, a popular walking trail and outdoor classroom site in The Presidio. This girl was subsequently identified as Alexa Thomas, who lived with her family in The Presidio on Infantry Terrace. Alexa Thomas attended Academy Prep in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, where she was active on the girls soccer and swim teams. She was also an avid fan of fashion design, and hoped to pursue design in college. We have learned through multiple interviews that Alexa Thomas attended a party at the Hartman Family home on Presidio Terrace a week ago — a party which was attended by many teens who went to not only Academy Prep, but also Xavier Prep, and Holy Heart, among other schools. This party featured underage drinking and assorted controlled substances. The party then migrated from Presidio Terrace into The Presidio, where it continued at Inspiration Point — both in the parking lot and on the trails further down the hill.” Paco swallowed again, his calm voice wavering slightly. “While most of this party activity would be deemed typical of high school students, one of those students is now dead. As this death occurred in a National Park, we have sought assistance from the FBI who have been more than generous with their expertise and resources in this investigation. We have likewise sought assistance from the San Francisco Police Department, who have been invaluable. At this time, I’m going to introduce Special Agent Mark Greenberg of the FBI, who is overseeing the case.”
The cameras whirred again; the reporters scribbling in shorthand on small pads here and there, most stunned into silence. Mark licked his lips as he approached the podium, revived from a cold-water dousing after his nap.
“Good evening. I’m Mark Greenberg.” He paused and glanced up at the wall of cameras, swallowing hard. “As you know,” he began, voice low, “there was a raid on the Hartman residence on Presidio Terrace at dawn this morning. This raid was run in tandem between the Drug Enforcement Agency, the IRS, as well as the FBI. The DEA and IRS have their own investigations running and I will not be be commenting on either one of those. We are thankful that both of those departments allowed us to execute the search warrants pertaining to our case, which resulted in a plethora of evidence.”
Plethora? You sound like a jerk. Mark cleared his throat.
“Alexa Thomas was a new student at Academy Prep, joining the school in January after her family moved to San Francisco from New York — a difficult transition for a teen in her junior year of high school. It was only a few months into her time at Academy Prep that she was subjected to online harassment and bullying, which later increased to physical intimidation. This continued over the summer and into the new school year which began in late August. We have reason to believe that bullying may have been a cause for Alexa Thomas’ death on Friday evening. We have evidence that she was served an alcoholic beverage that was dosed with GHB which would have left her disoriented and confused on the dark trails of The Presidio. She was separated from her friends, and targeted in an effort to scare her.” Mark looked out into the cameras, his eyes connecting with all of the lenses in turn. “At this time, I’d like to present Alexa Thomas’ stepmother Carole Thomas, who would like to say a few words.”
Carole Thomas stepped forward from the wall where she’d been standing between Paco and Jeannie. Her eyes were huge, but she looked composed in a refined dark gray cashmere turtleneck and trim black blazer over a pair of indigo jeans. Settling herself at the podium, she pushed out a slow breath.
“Good — good evening.” Her voice unsteady. “My name is Carole Thomas.” She also looked out into the cameras the way Mark had. “I married my husband, Spiro Thomas, ten years ago when his daughter Alexa was just about eight years old. The next day, I adopted her officially in front of a judge in Manhattan, and the three of us became a family. Spiro and I went on to have two more children: Matteo and Eva, and Alexa was a kind and nurturing big sister to them.”
Carole drew a shaking breath. “Alexa was our delight. Beautiful, playful, talented — she loved New York City: all of its museums and shows — she loved art and design, and worked hard at her hobby of fashion design, learning how to sew in the 5th grade. I took her to her first fashion show in New York a few years later, and she knew that was what she wanted to pursue. Of course, she also loved her sports, excelling at soccer and swimming, especially swimming. She won many awards at event swimming, but also loved open-water swimming. It was not easy to ask her to move to San Francisco last year, but she agreed, looking forward to experiencing California and what it had to offer. This fall, with the start of her senior year, she was finally relaxing into her new school and enjoying her activities and new friends.” Carole paused, changing the page in front of her. She swallowed hard, trying to regroup. “In the last few years there have been many cases of teen deaths caused by peer bullying: Skylar Neese1 in 2012 and Rebecca Sedwick2 in 2013 are just two of the most recent cases that have grabbed the headlines, but there are plenty of others. In August of this year, the National Institute of Health published a paper on the effects of cyberbullying3 on adolescent health, stating that “adolescents who are targeted via cyberbullying report increased depressive affect, anxiety, loneliness, suicidal behavior, and somatic symptoms.” We knew there had been some bullying among Alexa’s peers, but we were lucky in that she was so involved in academics and activities that she didn’t let any of it hold sway over her for the most part. That changed this last summer after a party of friends stayed at a home in Lake Tahoe, where Alexa was harassed and goaded by some boys who were pressuring her into sexual activity. She refused and removed herself from the situation and the party. We have been told that additional online bullying continued this fall on a private chatroom site used by students at the more exclusive San Francisco prep schools, but Alexa simply ignored it, working hard at school and sports. She was enjoying her senior year and had finally hit her stride, making good friends and enjoying her classes.”
Carole paused again, blinking away tears. “We are devastated by the loss of our daughter. This week has been unbearable to all of us, but we will not stop until the people responsible for Alexa’s death are charged and prosecuted appropriately. We appreciate all of the excellent work done so far by Agent Greenberg, Officer Mayfield, and Office Hagen of the SFPD — they and their team have been tireless in their pursuit of answers in Alexa’s case.” She looked into the cameras once again. “Thank you.”
Mark stepped forward again, gently ushering her to the side before returning to the podium.
“Thank you Mrs. Thomas.” He breathed. “Since last Saturday, our team, which is comprised of officers from the FBI, SFPD, and the US Park Police, have been poring over electronic evidence to chart the progression of this bullying effort that had gone on for weeks. We are also documenting the Halloween party on Friday night through texts and images, and this is where we will need some assistance from the public. Let me introduce officer Jean Hagen of the SFPD to explain.”
Jeannie approached the podium with a half smile at Mark as he stepped aside. She placed her own bulleted list in front of her and looked up into the cameras, trying to root herself in her feet to quell the terror she felt in her chest.
“Good evening. I’m officer Jean Hagen of the SFPD. I have ben been detailed to this case under Agent Greenberg and Officer Mayfield to assist the investigation. The San Francisco Police Department is always eager to offer support to our neighbors here in The Presidio, especially on a case that involves students attending some of the more prestigious schools in the city.” Jeannie knew that one would land, and watched as the reporters jotted furiously into their little pads. “In that capacity, we have activated a tip line to gather information about the party on Halloween — last Friday night. The party that Alexa Thomas attended was likewise attended by students of Academy Prep, Xavier Prep, and Holy Heart, and possibly other students from other schools. The party began at the Hartman residence around 8pm. Around 10pm the party migrated up Arguello Street and into The Presidio, past the golf club to the parking lot at Inspiration Point. As Officer Mayfield stated, the party continued with alcohol and various other substances both in the parking lot at Inspiration Point, as well as on the trails below — specifically the Upper Ecology Trail. We are currently seeking information from anyone who may have attended this party, either at the Hartman residence or at Inspiration Point. We are seeking witness statements about the party, and are especially interested in any photographs that may have been taken.” Jeannie swallowed, her mouth dry. “There is both a phone-in tip line, as well as a website where you can submit a form, attaching photos for submission. Both may be done anonymously. We will be handing out an information sheet to all of you that provides the specific details, if you could please share it in your reporting. We would like to thank everyone in advance for their assistance in providing any information in this case. Thank you.” Jeannie stepped back, eyes wide.
The crowd of reporters erupted with shouts of questions as Paco returned to the podium.
“Okay, okay — as I said, we are not taking questions this evening and we’ve told you everything we are able to disclose.” More shouting as Mark joined him. This time they were trying to catch the attention of Carole Thomas. “Mrs. Thomas has made her statement.” Paco said sternly, his voice sounding foreign, even to himself. “And I’ll say this right now: this is a national park. There will not be any access granted to any area near the Thomas home, in fact, any broadcasts will need to be made outside the gates of The Presidio.” Paco looked at the reporters, daring them to dispute it. “If any reporters attempt to infiltrate The Presidio outside of sanctioned press briefings there will be consequences.” The group again raised a flurry of shouted questions.
“Agent Greenberg!” Someone shouted, “will charges in this case be filed by the San Francisco district attorney or the DOJ?”
Mark sighed. “Once we determine the exact crime and where it was committed, we will decide on that. For now, this is a federal investigation due to a suspicious death on federal land and charges will be filed accordingly.”
More shouting.
“Listen —” Mark raised his voice slightly. “We are not commenting on anything else — especially not the other federal cases. I simply do not have insight into them. This is all the information we have tonight. We are coming around with information sheets — “ Meg from the office began to move among the group, handing out sheets with a friendly smile. “This is all we have time for this evening. Thank you.” Mark and Paco stepped back, immediately following after Jeannie who was ushering Carole Thomas back inside the building. The reporters were still shouting questions until the large metal doors clanged shut behind them all.
Skylar Neese was a 16 year old honor student at University High School in Monongalia County, West Virginia, who wanted to become a criminal defense attorney. She was murdered by her friends, Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf in July of 2012. When asked why, Rachel Shoaf simply said they “didn’t want to be friends any more”. Skylar’s body was discovered in January 2013.
Rebecca Sedwick was a 12 year old student at Crystal Lake Middle School in Lakeland, Florida. She was bullied in-person and online, even via anonymous messages on her phone, encouraging her to end her life. Two other minor girls were charged with aggravated stalking and bullying, though the charges were dropped. She died by suicide in September of 2013.
Charisse L. Nixon, Current perspectives: the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health; 2014, Dove Medical Press Limited